Read First Before Buy Traxxas 2 4GHZ Battery Charger Styles
Got this for my son on his sixth birthday. He absolutely LOVES it. Initially I put it on the limited setting (15mph) but since he had some experience running a Losi Micro DT that was overly cautious.
Being 6, he prefers huge jumps, donuts and demolition derby with his friends and I'm amazed how well it handles the abuse. I've tested it too and ran it full speed (about 30mph) into a metal pole - just a little scratch. Only damage so far (about 10 hour on it so far) is a small crack in the body, probably from getting pulled out of the bushes rather then a crash. The car itself feels well built while the radio is pretty poor plastic and the transmitter battery lid is already bent (without being abused). I.e. if the radio gives up I would replace it with something better. If I would replace anything for actual performance reasons it would be the shocks. They aren't great, definitely not good enough for racing against other more race inspired cars, but fine for bashing. Also, the rear axles seems like they will wear out fairly soon but the replacement parts are inexpensive and easy to find. Every store I've seen has them.
You will probably want either more batteries or a better charger. Or both. The included charger works but takes forever (good for the initial forming charge but then just annoyingly slow) . You can find 5000 mAh NiMH packs from $22 (LiPo is better but requires careful handling and a better charger) and a decent charger from $50 (although I'd recommend the Hyperion EOS0606i that can be had for about $110, especially if you go LiPo).
I should probably admit that it's a fun toy for adults too. To the point where I'm considering getting one more so we can race.
A Kid's Review
BalasHapusMy first serious rc car, I was skeptical of spending this much money at first, but I am very happy with it. It's fast and durable. I run it hard, there's lots of dirt and water and its had its fair share of crashes and rollovers but it hasn't broken yet.
BalasHapusPerfect condition. Runs amazing. The battery was about half full when it came so it ran a little funny, so you should let them charge a full 9 hours before playing with them. He loves it !
BalasHapus4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
BalasHapus
BalasHapus
BalasHapusThis is a great RC vehicle! We bought it for our 11 year old son that drove them at a NHRA race this fall. He was shocked that he got one for Christmas! It runs great, takes a beating and keeps on going! I do recommend that you purchase the extra battery and rapid charger, so the race "session" lasts longer! Our Boy is just loving it, and puts a smile on our face!!!!
BalasHapusgreat introduction into the R/C world, "i" think. the brushless slash 4x4 seems almost indestructable, atleast when it's off-road. if you ride it on the street and a "full scale" automobile runs over it, it will definitely be smashed-up pretty good though. everything on the traxxas slash seems to be made very tough, and well. also, i couldn't help but notice how thoughtout the overall design was. (if only our real "full scale" cars were designed so well.) the truck is designed so that every single one of the 100 or so parts are easily replaceble (if you can use a screw driver), and/or modifiable. when i say everything, i mean everything from screws and pins to gears and hubs. most of the parts cost $3-$10 per pair at a hobby shop. if you are lookin to upgrade to aluminum or titanium racing parts, it's slightly more expensive. most of the pricey stuff, such as motors and batteries, can be found cheaper online. everything on this truck can be swapped out for high performance parts, including the chassis. all parts can be found online, at various websites.
BalasHapusthe speed. the 1/10th scale slash with the brushless motor is very fast outta the box. if you have never operated an r/c truck in this class, or above, you will be very surprised how fast it is. give yourself some room the first few times you run it, so you don't scratch it all up on your first outting. the battery-pack will take a very long time to charge (about 6-8 hours) with the supplied charger. make sure to charge it all the way the first few times, or you'll screw up the memory, and never be able to charge the battery to 100%. i would suggest buying a peak charger (charges battery in approx. 45 mins.), and a couple spare battery-packs. it may be smart to do so at the time the truck is ordered. the supplied 3000mah battery only offers about 15 mins of run time.(then it would take another 6-8 hrs to charge the battery,if you are still using supplied charger.) i chose to buy 4300mah packs, and they last a bit longer. the truck may even be faster with them.
BalasHapus5.0 out of 5 stars
BalasHapusThis was my first fast RC car and best. This car is great for newbies that don't want to deal with gas (like me). It's extremely fast (29mph was my max). Very durable and EXTREMELY easy to fix. The turning abilities are amazing and the range is uncanny. I CAN'T GET OVER IT.
BalasHapusAwesome, January 1, 2012
BalasHapusThis was my Christmas present and it was perfect i would highly recommend this to friends it's very good I went to a friends house and we raced this is the best
BalasHapusGot this for my son on his sixth birthday. He absolutely LOVES it. Initially I put it on the limited setting (15mph) but since he had some experience running a Losi Micro DT that was overly cautious.
BalasHapusBeing 6, he prefers huge jumps, donuts and demolition derby with his friends and I'm amazed how well it handles the abuse. I've tested it too and ran it full speed (about 30mph) into a metal pole - just a little scratch. Only damage so far (about 10 hour on it so far) is a small crack in the body, probably from getting pulled out of the bushes rather then a crash. The car itself feels well built while the radio is pretty poor plastic and the transmitter battery lid is already bent (without being abused). I.e. if the radio gives up I would replace it with something better. If I would replace anything for actual performance reasons it would be the shocks. They aren't great, definitely not good enough for racing against other more race inspired cars, but fine for bashing. Also, the rear axles seems like they will wear out fairly soon but the replacement parts are inexpensive and easy to find. Every store I've seen has them.
You will probably want either more batteries or a better charger. Or both. The included charger works but takes forever (good for the initial forming charge but then just annoyingly slow) . You can find 5000 mAh NiMH packs from $22 (LiPo is better but requires careful handling and a better charger) and a decent charger from $50 (although I'd recommend the Hyperion EOS0606i that can be had for about $110, especially if you go LiPo).
I should probably admit that it's a fun toy for adults too. To the point where I'm considering getting one more so we can race.
The Slash 2WD RTR is a beast, and that's a great thing. Right out of the box, you only need to scrounge up 4 AA's and you're almost ready to go. I say almost, because you have to wait 7 to 8 hours to charge the 7cell 8.4v battery. If you're impatient, I highly recommend getting a quick charger (and time it so it arrives on the same day, if not slightly before the Slash arrives).
BalasHapusThis is my first 1:10 scale R/C car and I was not prepared for how big it is in real life. My 2 year old son (ostensibly the owner of the vehicle) was very excited during the unboxing and thanked me multiple times. So, if you want to win points with your kid, this is definitely the way to go.
The 8 hours charge time gives you plenty of time to read through the beautiful manual, and I highly recommend you do so, at least once.
If this is your first 1:10 scale R/C, do what I did and set the electronic speed control (ESC) to 'training' mode. This limits the car to half of max speed.
I had a small gathering of neighborhood kids hovering around when we took the Slash out for its maiden run. Even at half speed, this thing flies. Racing next to cars driving down our street, the Slash is going roughly 20mph in Training mode. At 20mph, if you drive as poorly as I do, you will be ramming everything along the road. It was trash day, so we had plenty of obstacles for me to test the durability against. Our slightly higher curb also provided a nice test bed against which the Slash could ram. After 30 minutes of driving it around the street, onto my front lawn, into various garbage cans and parked cars (just the tires), I inspected the Slash to find no physical damage and just a few cosmetic scratches.
From what I can tell, the battery still had a lot of juice left in it, so the 3000mah battery provided is definitely enough to get around. I have 2 extra spare batteries on the way so that we can take it out and about without worrying about the Slash running out of fuel before we run out of steam. I'm now looking around for off-road dirt areas to drive around, so there are definitely a lot of family outing possibilities in our future.
So, first impressions are five stars for fun and durability.
For educational value I also give it a full five. What you can learn from owning this car is only limited to what you're willing to spend time and effort on. The Slash is fine without any adjustments so you can choose to learn practically nothing from it, and just have fun driving around. Or, you can start learning about fine tuning the vehicle, tweaking parts, painting new body shells, and the world of hobby R/C cars is wide open to you, starting from the Slash platform. Because almost all the parts are replaceable and optionally upgradeable, there is definitely a lot to learn. Once you get into the hobby, you'll be learning which tires to use on which surface, how to tune your shocks for where you'll be driving, how to race/drive the line on a track. The learning potential is limitless without forcing you to learn much at all to enjoy it. (It is definitely easier to pick up than, say, an R/C helicopter or plane)
So, without hesitation, I wholeheartedly recommend this as the perfect starting point, without overspending on upgrades (like brushless motors) to get you going.